Road to the Gathering: Registration Made Easy

“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.” 1 John 4:9 (NIV)

If you are like me, paperwork seems to keep piling up and it never seems to quit. The life of a youth worker seems to be full of Bibles, pizzas, sodas, dodge balls and paperwork! Yes, it is necessary, but just sometimes -seems like a pain.

The National LCMS Youth Gathering tries to make it as easy as possible on youth workers concerning paperwork. Certainly there is necessary information needed from each Gathering participant, but the Gathering registration team allows you to enter most of that information online. There are registration worksheets available for download that will be useful for you to collect information. But as the leader, you have the option to enter all of that information online so that you do not have to send the traditional super thick packet of all of your information sheets!

Another tip I will give you is concerning your hotel preferences. In the old days, you would have to go through at least 30 or more hotels and give your top 10 preferences. Now, the registration team has only four “zone” options for you to consider. You will pick your top zone as your preference and the team will do the best job they can to put you in that zone. This is yet another way the Gathering team is making it easier for youth workers to register their groups!

Finally, I want to give you a tip on medical forms. I recommend that you make sure that each student carries a copy of their a medical form in their backpack at all times. If the unthinkable happens and there is a medical emergency with one of your youth and you or another adult leader is not around, someone will just need to open up their backpack and their medical information will be right there. I also recommend to you that you carry the original of each student’s medical form with you and your other adults just to be on the safe side.

Paperwork preparations are certainly necessary, but it doesn’t always have to be painful! I’m thankful that our Gathering registration team does the best they can to make things as easy as possible for the adult leaders of each group! And, remember to visit www.lcmsgathering.com for up-to-date information concerning the registration process.